Muhammad Cassim, a second-year student in the Department of Engineering Sciences in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of the Free State, will participate in the winter university project in Pskov, Russia, from 25 November to 9 December 2024.

The winter school aims to strengthen relationships among young engineers and deepen international interaction via skills improvement, joint projects, and social cohesion. The programme boasts a densely packed education block, project block, and cultural block.

Cassim is part of the UFS Grid Related Research Group and actively participates in research centred on complexity science. He intends to complete his BSc Physics degree with Engineering subjects and progress towards postgraduate studies in the UFS Department of Physics.

He is currently working on verifying experimental developments in the field of synchronisation in complex networks. While he has already completed this high-performance computing training in his first year under the leadership of Albert van Eck (Director, UFS E-research), he is looking forward to the masterclasses in holographic modelling, deep learning, direct laser deposition, and database. Closely resembling his current research, he will have the opportunity to gain more experience in the use of set theory and graph theory in solving digital information processing problems.

For more information about international scholarships for study abroad opportunities, contact Mbali Moiketsi in the Office for International Affairs.

Cassim’s student profile is the culmination of the department’s strategy to produce young applied scientists who are subjected to the culture of research during their undergraduate study and could articulate with ease to other departments for postgraduate studies.  The department aims to align with the UFS’ Vision 130 by producing competitive students who can operate in the postgraduate paradigm with the digital themes of veterinary science and ecological engineering science.